Distant Connection
by Kimmo Zero Apple Pronger
Summary: Lily is a sophomore student in college. She is an independent young woman normally but inside her heart, she was in love with Kaito. However, someone else has eyes for her and is rather determined to take her mind from Kaito and help her move on but from a distance. Lily was not one for beating around the bush but this admirer would not be shaken off so easily...
1. Not A Conventional Love Letter

**Author's Note: Pairings are a very sensitive and subjective subject. If you do not favour this pairing, close out of this story now.**

**You've been warned.**

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><p>Lily was currently in the process of sleeping in her bed in her dorm room. She is a sophomore student in college, taking up instrumental and vocal lessons. However, she was normally not a happy person but not depressed. She's a rather independent young woman yet caring to a select few she cares about.<p>

However the past few weeks into the semester, she had been rather depressed. There was a boy who she happened to fall in love with. His name was Kaito. Lily fell in love with him when they were in high school. They were childhood friends and best friends as far as either of them remembered. However, to her dismay, people normally paired Kaito and Miku together since they were the best singers in their school at the time both male and female.

They had several duet performances together. They gained the admiration of other musicians and singers in their high school. Meanwhile, Lily herself was good in her own right but not boastful about it. However, she remembers that every time that she saw Miku and Kaito together on-stage, she would often wish to herself that it was her up there with him.

By the time of her graduating high school, Kaito and Miku were already dating during their freshman year in college.

Remembering all this made her extremely depressed. However, she had been remembering these same memories often. She regretted not asking him out but she didn't because she thought that Kaito only saw her as a best friend, and that saying something that like out of the blue would ruin it between them. Unrequited love- It's very bittersweet but sometimes for the best.

Suddenly, a sound representing a door opening resonated in her room. Lily happened to be facing the door from her position so she slowly opened her eyes but not enough to make it visible that she was awake. Lily saw that it was Kaito, her best friend from childhood. She felt a sense of relief when she saw him come in but...something about him was off. Lily kept her eyes slit nearly closed to conceal her cover.

Lily took a moment to observe Kaito's face but noticed that something was off with him. She noticed that he was breathing rather heavily with a stressed out face. Lily was inclined to help but she didn't want to pry; she had that much consideration for Kaito that she was willing to respect his privacy even when it came to a problem he was facing.

Then, she saw Kaito go in her direction. Lily quickly shut her eyes, worried that Kaito noticed she was awake. She heard his footsteps coming closer and closer until she felt a weight shift on the bed, Kaito must be sitting down on her bed. Then, she felt a nudge from him. "Hey...Lily...I need you...can you wake up?"

Lily became even more curious. So her cover wasn't blown yet Kaito felt the need to wake her up anyway? She gave a fake yawn to give off the impression she woke up from a deep sleep. "What's up, Kaito?"

"Um..." Kaito was looking down from her eyes, making Lily worried. She thought that she was going to be told a relative of Kaito's died or something. Regardless, she was going to be there for him since he went to her. "...Miku...we're over..."

Lily quirked her eyebrow at that. However, inside she felt a sense of an extremely heavy burden about to be lifted. Was what she was hearing real? "What? Why did you two break up?" She asked in a surprised tone to disguise the surge of jubilee she was feeling.

Kaito still had his head down. "It's not because we did something wrong...but because we both knew we had someone else in mind."

Lily gasped at that, feeling a sense of angry fury from seeing Kaito so miserable like this. She can't remember the last time she saw him so miserable. "There's someone better than you, according to her?"

Kaito only nodded with tears leaking from his eyes.

"Th-that's..." Lily took a deep breath. Her head was slightly spinning from the reality that Kaito was now a single man once again. Perhaps heaven gave her a second chance but she knew she had a lot of work ahead of her in order to gain Kaito's admiration. "That's...that's...a bunch of bullshit. What a bitch. Why would anyone want to break up with a man like you?" Lily watched herself, trying not to make it obvious she felt something more for him. Lily put her right hand on Kaito's left shoulder as any supportive person would in a time like this. "Come on, Kaito! Cheer up! That Miku is not worth it anyways! You can do way better than her!"

Kaito slightly lifted his head, his lips curved a faint smile. "Thanks, Lily...but I said we both knew we had someone else in mind. We both knew the other loved someone else and we mutually decided to break things off."

Lily gasped this time, genuinely shocked. "Wait, what? You have someone else in mind?"

Kaito lifted his head, this time making full eye contact with Lily. "Yeah, I do."

"Well, who is it?" Lily asked, genuinely curious, although she had a nagging feeling she would be getting the shaft again shortly.

Kaito shook his head at Lily. "I...can't tell you."

Lily's eyebrow rose at that. "What? Come on, we're best friends. You can tell me."

Kaito smiled while looking to the side of the bed in the opposite direction. "...I can't. I need some time to recover. I promise to tell you after I did. Maybe you can help me get a date with her?"

Lily felt her stomach turn. It was another woman...again... From the way Kaito asked her if she could help, it was clear that the girl in question wasn't her. She should have known better than to get her hopes up. Was respecting Kaito's space and feelings really hurting her more? She wondered to herself. Lily looked down a bit, trying to conceal the crushed feeling. "Oh...sure..."

Kaito kept the smile on his face. "Thanks, Lily. You were always such a good friend."

That last word of that sentence echoed in her head. 'Friend' She would only be his best friend...

By the time she had looked up, Kaito was already on the other side. Lily practically collapsed back on the bed, more depressed than she was before. She turned over, facing the wall away from Kaito, crying in silence. Just when she thought she had a chance...

Lily passed out almost immediately after she cried her eyes out. Exhaustion got the best of her.

* * *

><p>When Lily woke up, she looked at the calendar and saw that it was one week later. Lily found out that she had dreamed of that night again when Kaito said that he couldn't tell her what other woman he was feeling more for. Lily turned towards Kaito's bed to see a sign of him. Kaito wasn't there anymore. She concluded that it must have been time for his classes and she woke up too late to greet him a good morning. She briefly thought about what had happened last night when Kaito announced that he wanted to date someone different and that she was right for him.<p>

"_You can do way better than her!" _The thought echoed in her mind.

Lily slowly shook her head when what she really meant was, _"I can do better than Miku! Let me be your girlfriend!"_ But she respected his space too much that she allowed him to make his own decisions and not make him having to love again so quickly.

She had loved him since high school and perhaps even when they were kids. However, remembering her own words, the optimist inside of her interjected that perhaps maybe Lily would find someone better than Kaito and maybe her and Kaito were just not meant to be? No, it couldn't be. She has met no man better than Kaito. But...he seems to not like her in the way she liked him and there would be a first time for everything. Maybe hanging out with other boys would help Lily take her mind off of Kaito for a while. She had been thinking about him a lot lately.

Lily didn't have any morning classes today but she felt too depressed to move from her dorm. Lily wasn't normally a depressed person but she could really use some company right now. As her eyes scanned to the door of their dorm room, she saw a letter near the base of the door.

This was...odd. Someone had some mail for them? But it's early in the morning and someone usually knocks on the door to deliver the goods. Lily shrugged her shoulder. Who knows? Maybe it was supposed to arrive yesterday and it didn't so someone volunteered to slip it underneath the door.

Lily slowly made her way to the door and then carefully picked up a letter. She noticed that the letter had a faint smell of cologne on it. A few more sniffs and she noticed that it was a familiar cologne. Didn't Kaito usually wear this? Yeah, she remembered. Lily shook her head to get Kaito out of her head once she realized she was thinking about him again.

She looked a the front of the letter. It read, _"Not a conventional love letter" _

This was...strange, to say the least. Who the hell would spray cologne on a letter and then say something like that on the front? Lily told herself to be skeptical and suspicious since this was a rather shady letter. She slowly opened the letter to find a card inside. Then, she nearly dropped the card in shock once she realized what was on the front of the card.

It was an old high school photo of her during her freshmen year in high school. Lily's eyebrows quirked upward and her mouth gaped slightly. Again, she nearly dropped it out of shock. ...Who was this? She hadn't thought about high school for a long while but...whoever sent this clearly knew her in high school and she didn't remember giving her freshmen photo to anyone as she remembers feeling so embarrassed with her photo.

Very curious now, she opened the letter and then saw that there was a very long body within the letter. But it was typed and it was clearly literally cut and pasted onto the letter. Lily became even more suspicious of this but she acknowledged the cleverness of the sender. Lily was a rather observant person and because it's typed, she can't have a shot at recognizing the sender via handwriting.

Lily began to read the letter slowly,

**"_Hello, Lily. I am your secret admirer. I understand you're suspicions in regards to me and the letter you're reading right now but hear me out. To help you ease your fears, I put a photo of your freshmen year on the front of the card, which you should have noticed by now so that you know it's not a total stranger. You may think of me as some flirtatious asshole but believe me, that's not the case. I've been admiring you from afar for too long, Lily. It's about time we talked but I'm very nervous of meeting you personally so I want to get acquainted with you first via online. I feel more comfortable there. I had your feelings in mind as I wrote this letter as I had when I looked at you throughout our years in high school. I'm not going to say all the flirty crap and how beautiful you look and whatnot. I'm just going to say right now that I really do admire you and we need to talk. I noticed you were depressed lately and I really want to help you out, so I took this opportunity to write this letter and maybe for the meantime, give you someone to talk to. Anyway, I can't say much in this letter due to...circumstances. But please, give me a chance and I promise you won't regret it. I'll be waiting for you on Skype at 10:30 AM. My Skype name is at the closing of the letter. I hope you will give me a chance and at least give talking to me a shot. Just know that I'm not trying to ask you out right off the bat. I just want to talk to you. I know how sharp of a person you can be so I typed this letter instead of hand-writing it so that you couldn't tell who sent it via handwriting. Oh yeah, and make sure nobody sees that letter. I can't bear to be the laughing stock of the campus... I'll be sending you an invite on Skype at 10:30 AM today. I hope to see you then._**

**_Love, Pronger617" _**

While holding the letter, Lily looked up at the clock that was hanging over the door. It was 9:57 AM. It's just over half an hour after. Lily didn't know what to think about this. A part of her wants to ignore it but another part of her would feel really bad if she did. She just doesn't know how to put it in words. From the way the letter was written, it sounds as if this man really did his homework on her and that last part that declared this mystery man didn't ask her out right off the bat made her intrigued. Letters to her were usually short and flirty but not this one. This was something different. She had no idea if it's a good thing or a bad thing.

Lily just stood there, reading that letter again. She was suspicious but...at the same time, she could sense honesty within that letter. The more she thought about it, the more unsure she became. Although, she remembers she could use a diversion from Kaito so maybe she can use this opportunity to humor herself by taking up this mysterious admirer's request.

This would be the longest thirty minutes of waiting in her life. Lily just wanted to get to the bottom of this so that she can shrug off a potentially another asshole that probably only loved her for her body.

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><p><em><strong>To be continued...<strong>_


	2. Whitemail?

**Author's Note: The rating has been changed to M due to foul language. **

Lines _italicized _symbolize Lily's typed messages and thoughts.

Lines _**italicized and bolded**_ symbolize the mysterious figure's typed messages.

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><p>Waiting for 10:30 AM to come was a tough task for Lily. The yellow-haired woman was waiting on her laptop, starting at it intently. As it said in the letter, she had received a contact request from a user named Pronger617. Her eyes gleamed over the name, scanning it for abnormalities. She was getting a bit paranoid due to a lot of anticipation she was feeling.<p>

Slowly, she hit accept and now Pronger617 was added to her contact list of people on her Skype. She waited for the mysterious person on the other side to say something for about two minutes but nothing was said. Getting irritated, she decided to break the silence.

_"Hello?"_

_"**Hello." **_

_"Who is this and how did you get that photo of me?"_

_"..."_

_"Right, you're my newest stalker. Just fucking great."_

_"**Do you really think that?"**_

_"Listen to me, asshole. I know that whoever the fuck you are, you're stalking me and it's not funny. I suggest you quit it right now before I personally smash your face in. Also, how did you get my Skype name?"_

_"**A little birdie told me. I apologize if you're irritated."**_

_"No shit. And I'll wager you're one of those womanizers who thinks he's tough shit. I'm warning you right now. Stay the fuck away from me, kid."_

_"**I can't stay away from you, Lily. I came to help you." **_

_"Help me with what? You and I never met so how can you claim you know anything about me?"_

_"**...I know what you've been depressed about and I want to help you get over him." **_

Lily's stomach twisted when she saw that. No, this guy can't know about him...could he? Lily decided to mess with this guy a bit more just to see how he'll react.

_"Cool story. Anyway, I'm calling the mail to ask them who really sent me that letter so that I can seek you out. It was a nice try to type out that letter to conceal your identity but you picked a bad time to fuck with me, kid."_

_"**If I were you, I'd shut up and listen right now." **_

_"Oh yeah? Why?"_

_"**Because...I know about you...and how the one you love is...Kaito.." **_

Lily's pupils shrank. No way. She doesn't remember telling what she's been feeling for Kaito to anyone. There's no way. Lily's palms began to sweat. She started to feel as if something was at stake now...

_"Just shut up. You can literally say that about any girl."_

_"**It took you longer to type that." **_

_"...Huh?"_

_"**You're not so sure of yourself."**_

_"What the fuck are you talking about?"_

_"**I told you, I'm not some flirty asshole. I genuinely want to help and talk to you but if you insist on denying me, I can tell Kaito...all sorts of secrets I know..." **_

Lily's eyes slit.

_"You're bluffing."_

_"**Would I be bluffing if I told you that your favourite color is red?" **_

_"So?"_

_"**I know you loved Kaito since high school. I know every single concert you attended and watched Miku with envy, wishing you could be with Kaito up there. I even have some juicy things that I can show everyone that would stir quite the discussion should it become public." **_

_"Prove it."_

A few seconds later, A photo that was labeled "Lily's Past 1" was waiting to be received by Lily. She promptly decided to download it and look at it once it was finished downloading.

When she opened it up, she nearly vomited up her stomach acids when Lily saw what she did. This photo was the last thing she wanted to see. It featured Lily in awkward modeling positions with sexual appeal in them as well.

She painfully remembered their origin. Lily was a model during her senior year in high school. She remembers rumors about her secret job roaming around the school. It was the only way to get enough money to get admitted into college until her uncle volunteered to support her in her sophomore year. Lily thought that she got away with it but somehow this photo ended up in the wrong hands.

_"**Have you looked at it?" **_

_"Are you trying to blackmail me so that you can fuck me?!"_

_"**No, I only want to help but you're not cooperating." **_

_"You are trying to blackmail me... Just...what do you want?"_

_"**To help." **_

_"If you want to help me so bad and you know so much about me, then why resort to online chatting like this?"_

_"**I told you...I'm really nervous of meeting you in person. I'm just really thankful you took up my request. Thank you." **_

_"Damn, you are weird. You try to blackmail me and now you're thanking me? Two-faced much?"_

_"**I guess you can say that but, I know how scary you can be when you're angry." **_

_"So how much do you know about me?"_

_"**A lot." **_

_"Yeah?"_

_"**I know you hate Miku's voice because it doesn't sound like a human woman. Speaking of Miku, she and Kaito broke up, right?" **_

Lily was inclined to protest again but after what the man just showed her, she now knows better than before. Lily reluctantly typed down the truth.

_"So what if they did?"_

_"**You want to be with him, don't you?" **_

_"..."_

_"**You don't have to be ashamed to admit it." **_

_"Fine. I do."_

_"**What's holding you back, though?" **_

Lily felt something strange. As she's typing to her mysterious admirer, she could feel her neck-hairs stand up on end. She could feel a thousand eyes watching her through the walls all at once. She knew it's because of him. She wondered if she ignored it, would he show the pictures and then get her expelled? She concluded she made the right choice in acknowledging his request.

Without thinking, she typed the truth.

_"He...has eyes for another woman..."_

_"**And you're just going to let him go?" **_

_"...I don't want to ruin our long lasting relationship as friends. If he's happy with her, then what choice do I have?"_

_"**You do have a choice." **_

_"What choice do I have besides watching him hold another woman in his arms while I envy her for the rest of eternity?"_

_"**You can move on. Forget about Kaito." **_

_"Forget? You're just trying to get into my pants, aren't you?"_

_"**Moving on and forgetting will start your healing process." **_

_"..."_

**_"__It's clear that Kaito only sees you as his friend. I'm sorry to say."_**

_"..."_

This was beginning to wear on her mental state. This person seemingly knows everything about her and has things she thought she discarded. Lily felt unease and doubtful. This guy on the other side only seemed to be clearly out for her but...she's having so much trouble deciphering a definitive personality, or a lack thereof.

_"Let me guess. You say you're better than Kaito?"_

_"**You say that." **_

_"Don't fucking mess with me. You know what I mean."_

_"**If you just take the time to know me, maybe you can find me an interesting man. I told you, I admired you for a long while in high school. I became so interested in you because you behave so differently from other girls. How different you are attracted me to you." **_

_"How can I be sure you're not into me for my body?"_

_"**Simple. I could have raped you but I respect you too much that I didn't. It's certainly within my power to do so. After showing you what I do and what I know, are you sure you want to test me?" **_

_Lily gritted her teeth. She didn't want to take any chances._

_"...Fine..."_

_"**Anyway, I know what hobbies you had in high school. I know your likes and dislikes. I know what your dream is. And I know you'd do anything for the chance to fulfill your dream." **_

_"And my dream is...?"_

_"**Getting enough money from signing and touring so that you can own your very own jet plane, am I right? You want it yellow and make it have enough room to fit two people: You and your boyfriend." **_

_"...And you say you're in it to help me?"_

_"**Yes." **_

_"Fine...I'll let you slide but if you do anything and I mean anything to harm Kaito or me in any way, I will kill you no matter what consequences I'll face. You hear me?"_

_"**Believe me, I know how you get when you're angry." **_

_"I'll take that as a 'yes'."_

_"**Why don't you ask me a question?" **_

_"...If it's not a date to fuck you're initially looking for with me, then what is it that you get from helping me?"_

_"**The start of your healing process. I cannot stand to look at you sad anymore. I want to change that, to make you happy. Also, I want to prove to you that I am a better person and a better man than Kaito." **_

_"Good luck..."_

_"**Let's play a game." **_

_"What?"_

_"**I got something for you in the lounge room on the floor below your bedroom. It's hidden within the bookshelves. It's on the second row, second book to the left."**_

_"What is it?"_

_"**You will know when you see it. Nobody will recognize this but you. That's all the time we have for now. Meet me again tonight at around 11:00 PM and do not tell anyone what we've discussed. If you do not follow my directions, I cannot guarantee you'll still be taking classes here." **_

_"Fine. See you later."_

Shortly after he went offline, Lily almost immediately shut down her computer. She didn't know what to make of it. All she knows is that she's due for another online date with this guy and what was he supposed to have waiting for Lily down in the lounge on the floor below her?

This whole conversation that she had with this mysterious man...she had to wonder...could she handle outwitting this man? It seems as though he's got a lot of dirt on her. This wasn't any normal suitor she was dealing with. Lily remembers outsmarting people before in her time in high school. She could even remember outwitting some of the substitute teachers.

But...this man...this was going to be her greatest challenge yet. It was clear though, Lily wanted to shrug this guy off- Him and his attempts to 'help' her as he puts it. But...she couldn't deny that...Kaito seems to have moved on. What good would confessing do now? How would Kaito help? Her suitor would somehow know.

Lily was quickly becoming unnerved at all this. She did not want to be blackmailed into a relationship. She certainly didn't want to be raped by some stalker that knew her since high school. After pondering for what was almost a quarter of an hour, she came to the conclusion that it's best if she just followed what this guy wanted her to do first, then see what course of action she should take. If she kept that up, Lily thought she might have an idea of how to act next.

Then again, she's really not so sure except that she knows she has to follow what this man is saying...or she'll be expelled.

Lily couldn't think about it anymore. She just wanted to get to the bottom of this.

"Lily?"

Lily gasped aloud then turned to the door to see Kaito staring at her worriedly. "K-Kaito! Wh-what's up?"

Kaito stepped a bit closer to her bed. "You look shaken, Lily. What's wrong?"

Lily took a deep breath and sighed. _"I can't hurt him. I need to keep what happened just now a secret from him... If he sees those pictures..." _"I haven't been feeling well...I didn't even eat breakfast. My stomach and my temp... I just feel weird today."

Kaito shook his head in disapproval towards her. "What? You were just fine yesterday."

Lily sighed heavily again to act out her disappointment. "Yeah, I know. I had a few sneezes. I thought it was no problem. By the time I woke up, I'd just been feeling warm."

Kaito looked at her face closely, which caused Lily to avert her gaze towards him. Just the worried look of expression on his face that was directed at her, it almost made Lliy even more sick than she was knowing that she's been blackmailed to keep quiet.

Lily crossed her arms, still keeping up her tough-act. "Stop staring at me like that. I'm going to be okay, Kaito." Lily starts getting up from her bed and walking towards the door past Kaito.

"Where are you going? You should be resting!" Kaito called out to her.

"Going to drink some tea in the lounge. I'd like to be alone, please." Lily said to Kaito without looking back at him. Lily could feel something within her chest pulled in from imagining the look Kaito must have on his face from hearing her blow him off.

* * *

><p>Lily unsteadily made her way to the lounge while trying to act as natural as possible. Once she was there, she went straight for the bookshelf. <em>"Second row. Second book to the left. <em>She remembered to herself.

She looked at that particular spot. And she saw a red spine. It looked rather thin and old compared to the rest of the books that were in between. What did this man have to show her?

Slowly, Lily pulled the book out of the spot. She should have the correct one. Lily slowly turned to look at the front cover. Her eyes widened a bit. Lily instantly recognized who was on the front cover. It was Yuri Masuda. A wave of nostalgia washed over her. She hadn't thought about her for years. Lily remembers admiring her as a child.

But then she quickly snapped out of it asking, what is the point of this? As she asked that question in her head, there was small paper note sticking out of the side of the book. It said, "Read me" Again, it was typed so she couldn't recognize who wrote that via handwriting.

She pulled out the piece of paper. It appeared to be folded. There appeared to be another message within the folded paper. Lily unfolded it and it read, "Look at the page directly behind the front cover."

Lily had no idea where this was going. What was on there? Lily hastily opened the book and looked at the page directly behind the title cover. There was an autographed signing of her name on it. Lily knew from memory that was Yuri's handwriting herself. She looked below the autograph to see something else.

It had one of those "This book belongs to..." lines to declare who really owned the book. When she read what name there was, her eyes nearly popped out of her sockets when she saw the name on the blank line. She instantly recognized that handwriting.

"_This book belongs to... Lily Masuda" _

It was her name written in her own chicken-scratch as a child.

* * *

><p><strong><em>To be continued... <em>**


	3. This Man

"_No...this...can't...be the one that..." _

Lily still had her eyes opened wide, staring straight at the scribbled name of her's right on the dotted line of the autobiography book of Yuri Masuda. Immediately, she felt a wave of nostalgia take over her brain. With the wave of nostalgia came a wave of emotions both high and low.

Memories triggered...

* * *

><p><em>Lily's mom had just returned home from work. She spotted Lily sitting at a small table, playing with a coloring book. "Sweetie! Mommy's here!" <em>

_Lily, a six year old girl, stopped coloring to look at her mom. She smiled and then raced to give her a hug. "Mommy! You're back!" _

_Lily's mom giggled at her daughter's happy expression. "Guess what today is?" She asked as she rubbed Lily's head. _

_Lily still stayed there, hugging her mom's stomach. "I know what it is! It's my birthday! You said you had a surprise for me after work! What is it? I've been waiting all day! Tell me!" _

_Her mother laughed out loud for a brief moment. "I'm sorry you've been kept waiting but your moment is finally here. I think you'll like this present, Lily." _

_Lily eagerly awaited her gift to be handed to her. Her mother slowly reached into her purse, her hand scanned it for a bit. And then...she slowly slipped out what appears to be a red book. The front cover had a blond, curly haired woman holding a microphone in front of her. _

_Lily gasped upon recognizing the front cover. "No way! You really got her book?!" _

_Her mother slowly gave the book to Lily's tiny hands. "It's not just her book. Look directly behind the cover." _

_Lily was intrigued by this. She flipped over the front cover and looked behind it. There, she could see a signature. Lily opened her mouth wide and took a deep breath through her mouth. "N-No way! Th-this is...!" _

"_Yes, Lily. This was signed by your singing idol herself, Yuri Masuda. There was not that many autographed copies left. Luckily, I got one of the last ones to give it to you for your birthday." _

"_Are you serious? You're really giving this to me?!" Lily quickly flipped through the pages. "Thanks, mom! This is so cool!" _

_Her mom giggled. "You better take good care of that book, Lily. It's really such a rare thing for people your age to own. Don't lose it, okay?" _

"_Uh-huh! You got it, mom!" Lily gave a salute. "I will never-ever lose it!" _

"_Good, Lily..." _

"_Lily...Lily...? LILY!" _

* * *

><p>Lily snapped out of her thoughts, startled by the weight of a hand on her left shoulder. She placed her right hand on there, feeling for who's hand that was, when she slowly turned her head to the left to see who was talking to her.<p>

It was IA. Another best friend of her's. Because of her lighter blonde hair and similar skin complexion, some people believed them to be sisters. But in spite of them not being directly related, they did treat each other as such. "Oh...IA...hi..." Lily said in a daze, still caught up in her nostalgia attack.

IA had the hair of her eyebrows standing up on end. "Are you okay, Lily? You've been staring at the bookshelf for half-an-hour!"

Lily gave a light gasp. "What? I could have sworn it lasted for a couple of minutes..." Suddenly, she realized her nose was runny and her eyes were watery. She noticed that IA gave her a tissue. "Thanks..." Lily said as she took the tissue from her to wipe her face. She felt embarrassed and flushed a deep red, once she realized she had been weeping like a baby. Although, there was nothing she could do to hold back the tears once she felt the wave of joyful nostalgia awash her.

IA took a moment to look at the front cover of the book Lily was holding. "Say, isn't that an autobiography book of Yuri Masuda? She was a big reason why music is such a popular aspiration! What's a book like that doing here?"

Lily didn't have an answer for that. She only stared at the front cover and said, "...Funny...I was thinking the same thing..." Lily felt a jolt of pain run up trough her legs. She leaned to her left, feeling nauseous.

IA caught her. "Ah! Lily! Hold on! We're taking you to the infirmary!"

"No...just take me back to my room...I need to sleep...that's all..." Lily said softly, feeling her consciousness slip away. Shortly after, she passed out in IA's arms.

* * *

><p>Lily was back in her room when she woke up. When Lily found out it was night, the first thing she did was check the clock. It read 11:15 PM. It was fifteen minutes after when she and the man was supposed to meet again. Lily gasped at this, and her heart started to race, hoping to whatever deity that exists would grant the man the heart not to expose her just yet. She quickly logged on to her Skype account.<p>

While the computer was taking the time to log on, she looked over at Kaito's bed to see that he was fast asleep. He must have been worried and got tired waiting for Lily to wake up. Lily sighed to herself. She knew she would have explaining to do to Kaito tomorrow but hopefully she can convince him not to worry without too much effort.

Right now she was just worried that the man on the other side might leak the pictures. When the log in was finally done, she immediately started typing.

"_Answer me, Pronger!" _

"_**Welcome back." **_

"_Don't leak the pictures, I'm here!" _

"_**Don't worry about it. I haven't leaked them. You were taking your time resting up after fainting, am I right?" **_

Lily was still baffled that this man knew almost her every move and every breath she took.

"_Yeah... Not going to ask how you knew that but yeah, I'm fine now." _

"_**...So...did you like the gift I gave you?" **_

Lily looked to her left to see that the book was on the desk that's between their two beds. She went to grab the book and and she used the light of the laptop to look at the front cover and then her own signature on the back of it.

"_...What...the fuck?" _

"_**Yes?" **_

"_I hadn't thought about this book in years...and how did you end up getting it? I remember this book..." _

"_**Tell me about yourself and the book." **_

"_I'm not sure if I want to tell you that..." _

"_**Answer." **_

"_...Fine. Well...I remember getting this book from my late mother as a gift when I was a kid. I took it to school and read it during recess instead of hanging out with the other kids. But then...bullies started picking on me and eventually, they took the book from me. I felt helpless...I felt...a part of me was destroyed inside after watching my prized possession being taken away from me. I tried to get it back but then the summer that followed, the bully that took the book from me moved. From that moment forward, I decided to become tougher...tougher so that nobody would ever mess with me. Which is why I'm such a bitch today who only cares about a select few." _

"_**Thank you for answering honestly, Lily. I had that moment in time in mind when I put that book out for you." **_

"_Now let me ask you questions of my own. Did you know me during Elementary School as well? Also, how did you get the book? Are you the same bully that took the book away from me?" _

"_**...I did know you in Elementary School. I know you liked to be by yourself than with the other kids. When the bullies took the book from you, I tracked them down myself. Do you remember not seeing the bully at all after a few days from the incident and hearing that he eventually moved?" **_

"_...Yeah? What about it?" _

"_**I beat him up senselessly. I beat him up so bad, I gave him a concussion and landed him in the hospital." **_

"_...What?" _

Immediately after hearing that, Lily's palms began to sweat. Just...how powerful is this man? How far did this man would actually go to make her...happy? Beating someone up so senselessly that he had to go to the hospital? She remembers getting into fights before but never would she severely injure someone over a book. She would just have done it in self-defense, not out of malicious intent.

"_**...Yeah. After I got the book back from him and his buddies, I thought... I came forward with the book back then...you would never have became my friend because you thought I was with them. So no, I'm not part of the bullies that took the book from you. All I wanted was to give the book back...and this was the right time for me to do it. So... I hope that you are happy having your book back after all these years. I really wanted to do that for years and I'm glad I was able to do it." **_

"_...I don't know what to say... I hadn't thought about the book for years... Yuri Masuda was my role model, the one who inspired me to do music of my own. She still is... But...you didn't have to go and beat them up senselessly like that over a fucking book. I'm a bitch but I'm not a fucking bitch." _

"_**...People always do crazy things when they're in love. I loved you since we were kids." **_

"_You're creeping me out, Pronger. I mean...first you show me an old photo from high school and now you showed me a memento of my childhood. Just how far back do you know me?" _

"_**I've known you since we were kids, Lily. I'm sorry I didn't say that before. You already thought I was a stalker. Well, I could have the characteristics of a stalker but believe me, creeping you out is not what I'm here to do." **_

"_...And you expect me to believe that?" _

"_**Your belief isn't required. I act for your greater good..." **_

"_I really don't get you, man. I really don't get why this is all happening to me all so suddenly. I'm just a sophomore in college and I don't know what you mean or want. I never asked for my book back after I got out of Elementary School yet here it is given by you back to me. I'm really not sure what to think about this." _

"_**...Understandable emotions. I didn't expect you to be so happy to have a big part of your childhood back right away but at the very least... I got justice for you at last..." **_

"_..."_

Lily took the time to take in the atmosphere of the conversation. The air felt tighter around her. This man clearly knows her in and out. How was this man watching her? Was there hidden cameras around the room? Lily could almost feel the presence of the mysterious man right behind her. She slowly turned her head back, only to find her own shadow on the wall that was caused from the light of her laptop.

She tried to calm herself down and Lily wasn't a fan of the paranormal but the way how this man knew her every move since childhood really put her on edge. Now she knows that this stalker had it out of her since she was a kid. She didn't understand it.

"_**Are you okay, Lily? You didn't look behind you, didn't you?" **_

Lily's eyes went slightly wide. She looked down at her keyboard to see that her hands was shaking. The fear inside of her was intensifying knowing that the man was somehow watching her movements.

"_What the fuck?! How did you know I did that?!" _

"_**...The walls have eyes..." **_

"_What the fuck are you talking about?! Stop talking in shitty riddles!" _

"_**...I'm sorry for invading your privacy." **_

"_What?" _

"_**...I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all the days I've missed out on you. I'm sorry for all the times I made you unhappy. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to get your book back sooner. I'm sorry that I'm a terrible man for trying to talk to you like this... I just...I just wanted...a chance to meet you... But...I'm afraid you'll do something to hurt me." **_

"_..." _

The feeling in her stomach that she was going to vomit returned. This man is giving her such a vibe that it felt like she's got two hands to her neck, ready to strangle her to death.

"_**I have a confession to make..." **_

"_About time." _

"_**I can't bring myself to ever leak the photos of you." **_

"_...What?" _

Lily's eyebrow rose at that. She felt more confused than ever.

"_**...Lily...I won't be able to see you and that's the last thing I want. I just want to be with you...just once... All I wanted was a chance to take you out on at least one date. I was hoping that if I gave you the book back, you would at least trust me enough to meet me somewhere. But it's not right of me...to hold you hostage like that...and I'm very sorry for that. I just needed a way to get you to listen to me...and unfortunately...blackmailing you was the only way." **_

"_..."_

Lily wasn't sure what to make of that...but...why did she feel so bad for him? She knows that he didn't feel comfortable enough with her to talk to her in person so he had to rely on typed messages to interact with her. And now he's saying a confession that he didn't want to blackmail her. She was inclined to think that it was a trap but the book suggested otherwise. Maybe he is telling the truth after all? Suddenly, she got an idea.

"_...Do you swear you're telling the truth?" _

"_**...Yes..." **_

"_...I'm really not sure whether or not to believe you. But if you say you're as powerful as you say you are, then why don't you prove to me you're not lying about any of this?"_

"_**Okay, then. If you are as observant as I know you are, you will find my name within what I'm about to send you. I will only give you one hint. There is one letter to my name in each paragraph. Try to figure out what it is. And by the time you recognize it, you will find the answer to every question you have about me." **_

"_Okay...? Send me that message." _

"_**Okay...thanks...by the way. I appreciate it." **_

"_Whatever, I guess." _

It took about ten minutes to generate his message. During those ten minutes, Lily stared intently at the pencil icon that's supposed to indicate that the person on the other side. What did this man have to say? What was he going to say? The answers were just minutes away.

"_**Kept this a secret from you long enough but I'm glad I'm finally able to show myself to you. Let me tell you straight up now. I'm not just in love with you. I'm obsessed with you. You drive me crazy with every move you make and every breath you take. You take my breath away.**_

_**Also, not only that. I know you're a girl worthy of respect. You are an independent woman but you're also humble one. You don't have an ego. You just let your actions do the talking rather than spout out cheap words. I admire that from you. **_

_**In the time when I thought about doing this whole scheme of trying to have contact you, I thought about this plan for months. I can't keep lying to myself anymore or be so conservative. I know that risking things is part of life and I'm risking my dignity right now to confess my feelings to you. **_

_**Too long, I've concealed my true feelings. I've always believe that if you truly love someone, you should know a lot of things about them. But I tried to so far as to know every single thing about you so that you know that I'm not into you just for your body but for who you really are. I know you love rock. I know you hate Miku's voice for how robotic it sounds. I know how you want to be with that man... But I want you to be with someone better.**_

_**Other words I have to say is that it's up to you to find my name within this message. ...Take care... **_

_**-Pronger617"**_

It really sounded to Lily like this man really admired her. Now to find the name, she thought to herself. She remembers the hint that she's supposed to find the single letter in each paragraph. But where was each letter? Literally any one of the letters in each paragraph could be the letter. She took a moment and observe any oddities or abnormalities. She mouthed the message to herself once more. However, looking at it again, she noticed something strange. It's as if a certain part of the message was...forming a single word. Her eyes went to the start of the paragraph. Then she slowly read down the first letter of each paragraph... Lily slowly mouthed the letters to herself in a whisper.

"K...A...I...T...O..."

Lily almost screamed upon realizing the name. It caused her to jump a bit in her bed, both surprised and horrified upon discovering Pronger617's real name.

Suddenly, the lights came on. Lily turned her head slowly toward where the light switch was to find Kaito standing there, staring at her as if he knew what was going on.

"...You figured it out...didn't you?" Kaito asked Lily.

* * *

><p><strong><em>To be continued... <em>**


	4. Answers

Lily, too much in shock, just stared up at Kaito helplessly like newborn baby. "It...it was you...? That creepy man was you?"

Kaito only nodded while glancing at the corner of the room, away from Lily.

"B-But...h-how did you...how did you manage to..."

Kaito averted his gaze from the corner of the room and back into Lily's eyes. He proceeded to sit down on the side of the bed, next to Lily. "Let me explain. Starting from my childhood, I had a crush on you, Lily. I realized that when I got the book back from the bullies that took the book from you."

* * *

><p>"<em>Ha, ha, ha! Taking that book away from that girl was a piece of cake!" The leading bully said. <em>

_He was accompanied by two more male bullies. "You said it! You should have seen the look on her face." _

"_Hey, you!" _

"_Eh?" The leading bully looked over to his side only to be greeted by a fist in the face. _

_Kaito was the one who punched the bully. "Give back Lily's book, you punks!" _

* * *

><p>"As I said before... If I came forward with the book right away... I thought you would think that I was with the bullies and you wouldn't be my friend anymore." Kaito said, looking down at the side of the bed nearest to Lily.<p>

Strangely, Lily found herself scooting closer to Kaito. "Tell me about the pictures, Kaito. How did you know about my secret job and how did you get hat photo?"

Kaito came closer to Lily, never taking his eyes off of her. "You see...during your senior year in high school, on that day, I noticed that you were walking somewhere that you didn't normally go to. I followed you to make sure you were safe. I noticed that you went to a secret modeling agency that operated through illegal means. I thought you were taking that job to pay off your debt. So... I purchased some pictures of you and I demanded that the money would go straight to you. That's how you got enough money to enroll into the university. As for your high school photo, I noticed that you dropped one of the copies on the floor. I picked it up, and kept it to myself. You looked so cute in that picture, Lily."

Lily's face flushed red. She slightly gritted her teeth. "Kaito...if you did like me...why didn't you tell me? Why did you go with Miku?"

Kaito exhaled a huge amount of carbon dioxide while looking down. "Because I'm very, very stupid...and I didn't want to hurt you because of my stupidity."

Lily's eyes started to become teary. She put her right hand on one of Kaito's shoulders. "Th-Then...why? You said you knew about my feelings for you. Why?"

Kaito slowly shook his head before answering. He buried his head into his face. "...Like I said, I'm very stupid. I was a sheep back then. I just dated Miku to follow with the crowd and I was thinking my crush on you would disappear. It never did. The feelings I had for you never faded. I was lying to myself all these years. I tried to get you to forget 'Kaito'. I wanted you to forget the Kaito from before... and fall in love with a new Kaito. One who's not going to lie to himself anymore, one who's not going to be afraid to take a chance, and one who will truly follow his own convictions without being peer pressured."

Kaito fully positioned his whole body on the bed, facing Lily. He scooted very close to her. Kaito put both hands on Lily's shoulders, looking straight into her eyes. "I understand if you're feeling betrayed right now... But...I wanted to let you know...that I've changed. I've changed for you. I've changed myself to be a better person to you, to be a better man. I don't ever want to lose more time with you, Lily. I need you, Lily. I need you at my side. I don't ever want to let you go."

Lily started to sob, feeling the weight of Kaito's warm hands on her shoulders. "You could have just told me... I'm your best friend... You can tell me anything..."

Kaito moved his face closer to Lily, not letting go of her shoulders. "I didn't want you to think I was using you as a rebound. I couldn't afford to make you think I'm using you for my own personal gain. I respect you too much that I'm willing to protect you from my own selfish self. It's not right of me to use you like that..."

Lily couldn't hold herself back anymore. She tackled Kaito, knocking him flat on his back on the bed. She crawled over him, tears dripping down onto his face from her eyes. "Kaito! ...Am I that untrustworthy that you had to resort to using deceptive measures just to communicate your feelings for me?"

Kaito slowly nodded his head "no". "No, Lily. I consider myself untrustworthy. I thought if I told you then and there...you wouldn't believe me."

"Kaito, I love you! I've always loved you!" Lily blurted with another burst of tears falling on Kaito's face. "You didn't have to do all that! I was scared, okay? I was really scared out of my fucking mind when before I knew it was you! I was so relieved that it was you!"

Lily felt her arms becoming unsteady. A moment later, they gave out but Kaito caught her and slowly embraced Lily with her on top of him. She sobbed softly while being on top of Kaito. Kaito held her tight. He held her so tight in his arms, as if trying to squeeze the remaining tears out of her. Lily basked in the warmth of his embrace. Lily didn't know what she was feeling right now. She felt...a mixture of happiness and agony.

Kaito whispered into Lily's ear. "I'm sorry, Lily. I'm so sorry. From now on, things will be different between us. I'm not going to lose any more precious time I could be spending with you. I want to help you and I am obsessed with you. Yes...I'm that in love with you that I developed an obsession. Can I ask what you think of that?"

Lily didn't even have to take a moment to think about it. "...I'm happy. Happy that the man I love is obsessed with me. I'm just happy...but..."

"Yes?"

Lily slapped Kaito right across his face, clean and elegantly. "Don't you ever pull this kind of shit on me again, you hear me?"

Kaito smiled at Lily, not even taking any time to feel the spot where Lily slapped him. "Of course, Lily. I never meant to hurt you and I never will."

* * *

><p>Ten minutes later, Lily was sitting on Kaito's lap while being wrapped around Kaito's embrace from behind. She felt his warmth enveloping around her as she read through the pages of her old autobiography book of her idol Yuri Masuda. It filled her with nostalgia just reading through the pages like she used to every day, whenever she got a chance as a kid. "I really never thought I'd see this book again. It was a gift from my late mother...and it's all I got left of her after she died. I'm really happy that you got it back to me after all these years, Kaito..."<p>

Kaito nodded as he gently squeezed her body in his arms, trying to warm her even further. "You don't even got to worry about a thing, Lily. At your mother's funeral, I made a promise to her as she was being buried. I promised that I would protect her only daughter. I promised that I'd do anything to keep her safe and happy."

"Geez..." Lily reached behind her and pinched Kaito's nose affectionately. "You sound like one of those fairy tale knights in shining armor. Did I ever tell you how much I hate fairy tales?"

Kaito chuckled, taking a sniff of Lily's hair. It smelled just like her favorite shampoo flavor, lemon. "Don't worry. I'm aware of that. I'll try not to sound like this too often."

Lily made a playful scoff as she tapped both sides of Kaito's face even further with her index fingers. "It's from all those video games you used to play. If you keep talking like that, I might even start doing it too. And it'll be all your fault."

"Oh yeah?" Kaito started tickling Lily's stomach. Out of reflex, she elbowed Kaito's stomach, which made him reel back. "Ow! Ha, ha, ha!"

"I see you're playing dirty now." Lily said in an insidious voice as she turned around and started to tickle him back.

Suddenly, the door opened. They halted their activity, turning around to see IA and Gumi at the door, leering at them, with their eyes bloodshot.

Gumi was the first to speak. "We could hear you from over in our room. We heard every word and if you two are going to flirt, can you at least wait until the morning?"

Lily blushed, embarrassed for waking up her two friends. "Oh, uh, sorry... Hee...hee..."

IA made a soft giggle. "I take it that the planned worked, Kaito?"

Kaito nodded toward IA, smiling at her. "Well, obviously!"

Lily quirked both her eyebrows at that. "Wait, what? Kaito? They were in on this, too?"

"Yeah." Kaito sat up on the bed. "I called in a few favors from them. It took about two weeks to set all this up. I was lucky that IA was so good at crafting cards."

IA gave out a nervous giggle as Lily sneered at her.

"I was also thankful that Gumi was able to give me your Skype account name, Lily."

Lily's eye twitched as she forced a crooked smile. _"So that's what he meant by a birdie telling him." _

IA became nervous again, this time to Lily's look of smoldering anger. "Uh...maybe we should leave these two alone now. Congratulations for landing Lily again, Kaito!"

Gumi giggled as she followed IA on the way out and closed their door behind them.

Lily then turned around to Kaito and gave him a demonic look.

Kaito laughed nervously. "Look, I forgot to tell you about that, okay? Please?"

Lily only answered by making a monotonous and dull expression then pinching Kaito's cheeks as hard as she could.

_"Kaito, you idiotic son of a bitch!" _

* * *

><p><strong><em>The conclusion will come soon... <em>**


	5. Closing The Distance

**One month later...**

* * *

><p><em>December 25. To the common folk, it is known as a day of the celebration of boundless generosity and gay meetings. It was a day of getting together with family, friends, and loved ones. However, nothing is set in stone for all. To others, it's a day of mourning. Lily Masuda was standing with relatives around a grave site that had a casket about ready to be descended into the ground. <em>

_Lily normally doesn't cry during funeral processions but this one hit her like a cannonball to the face. In that casket was her now-deceased mother, who had died protecting her. She couldn't stop crying from the day she got the news that her mother was dead. She lost her mother's gift, then she lost her mother. _

_She could do nothing but stare at the descending casket helplessly as this would be the final resting place of her mother and the only place where she would see her. Lily's mom wasn't coming home. Not anymore. Instead, her mother's new home was the graveyard and Lily felt responsible for it. _

_However, in her time of grieving, an older boy to her left held her hand. Lily turned and looked to her left to see her friend Kaito looking ahead at the grave while holding her hand. Lily looked down at their hands together. His hand felt warm, clasping her's so tightly. It felt rather reassuring to her. Although Lily and Kaito weren't relatives, they were close enough that Lily invited him to mourn with her. _

_Kaito looked over at Lily, holding her hand tight. "It's going to be okay, Lily. IA, Gumi, Yukari, me...we're still here. We're here for you. I'm here for you. I'll...protect you, Lily in place of your mother." _

_Lily couldn't say anything through her tears. Instead, she looked up at him, nodded, knowing she could trust her friend. _

"_Lily...I want you to wake up for me. Wake up..." _

* * *

><p>Lily gasped, hyperventilating about the dream she went through. The funeral of her mother was something she'd never forget until the day she died. After Lily got her bearings, she found herself in a motor vehicle seated in the front passenger seat. Also, she felt her left hand being grabbed by someone. She turned to her left to see her now-boyfriend Kaito looking straight at her. "Kaito?"<p>

Kaito blinked a few times, not averting his gaze at all. He knew what Lily was dreaming about as there is only one thing that can make Lily cry. And that was recalling the day her mother died. "Lily, I know you had that dream again."

Lily sighed, putting her right hand over her forehead. Kaito knew her so well that it often was to her dismay. "Leave it alone, Kaito. I'm not the weak girl you remembered from back then. I know what happened to my mother was my fault but just crying isn't going to bring her back, nor will anything bring her back. I just need to keep moving forward...even if I am alone..."

Kaito slightly tightened his grip on Lily's left hand, which made her wince a bit. "Hey, hey. What do you mean you're alone? Don't you remember the promise I made to your mom as she was buried? I said I'd protect her only remaining daughter. And I'm here to help you, whether you like it or not. Also, what happened to your mother wasn't your fault. You were just a kid back then. You didn't know any better."

Lily turned her head toward the window next to her and stared at the cloudy sky above while still feeling Kaito's arm grip on her left hand, feeling totally negative. "Which part? The one where I carelessly chased my ball into the street while there's a car running through, or the one where I couldn't say anything to my mom before she died because of how traumatized I was?"

Kaito gritted his teeth. Whenever Lily got this way, it was tough to snap her out of it. Lily may be a strong girl but he knew that inside, she couldn't let go of the past. Kaito could feel his anger smoldering. Kaito squeezed Lily's hand tighter. "It's the same old bullshit whenever you get this way. You'll never listen. Do you think your mom would want you to blame yourself all your life until the day you die?"

Lily felt her eyes watering. Lily whipped her head around with the tears rolling down her face. "How am I ever supposed to apologize and make things up to her now that she's dead because of me?!"

"Think about what your mom would tell you." Kaito calmly replied, not paying attention to the tears falling down Lily's face. "Your departed mom is probably worried about you that you aren't happy. Think about it. Your mom did everything she could to make her little girl happy while she was alive. Do you think it would comfort her from up above to know that you're in misery? She knows you didn't mean it and I know that she would still want you to be happy. So please, even if you were almost directly responsible for the killing of your mother, please serve your mother's memory by living as happily as you can."

Lily looked down at both of Kaito's hands that were wrapped around her left hand. Kaito's hands had some traces of Lily's tears on them. Lily's gaze then went back at Kaito, who had a look of someone who's not going to be denied. Even though she knows how madly in love Kaito was, he still said things that were true to the heart.

"I was in your shoes before, Lily." Kaito continued onward. "I kept blaming myself. I couldn't help my mother and father. I couldn't do anything to help them when I was a little boy. But I learned something. I learned that blaming yourself and rolling over your bed moping over it is just a sad way of running away from a loss. Losses are a part of life and should be accepted. If you don't learn this yourself, Lily, you will lose sight of something terribly valuable. That's why I protect you, Lily. I couldn't protect my parents, but I use that to fuel my drive to protect my friends, and you."

Lily closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Lily's list of pet peeves included elongated speeches like the one Kaito said. But the fact that Kaito said it made it a bit more tolerable to her. Deep inside, Lily knew it was true. It's so easy to blame yourself but you have to move on someday and look at new opportunities opened for you. "I'm sorry, Kaito. It just...gets to me..."

Kaito's lips curved a faint smile, then leaned over and kiss Lily on the forehead. "This is what I'm here for, Lily. This is what I'm here for. We arrived here, by the way. This is what I wanted to show you."

Both Lily and Kaito exited the car and then looked behind the car to see an old playground made of wood, although the wood itself looked extremely old. There were also barricades surrounding the playground, to signal that it was off-limits to the public.

Lily gasped upon recognizing the old site. It was a playground. She would often go to this playground with Kaito when they were playmates as kids. "K-Kaito! We haven't been here in such a long time! Wasn't this place supposed to be a company building?"

Kaito nodded at Lily. "It was but then petitions and protests went through and then it was decided that this place would be renovated. The playground will soon undergo a construction that will make it a better playground but while it's still in its original form, I thought I'd take you back here for old times sake."

The place filled her with nostalgia. She remembers playing with Kaito here a lot. Ah, the memories. She remembers the games of tag she played with him here. She smirked upon recalling the times when she'd often outpace Kaito when he was chasing her. She always the more athletic one compared to him. "I haven't thought about this place for years. I remember the games of tag. You were slow as a turtle, Kaito."

Kaito slit his eyes as he leered at her. He was half-hoping she wouldn't bring that up. "Do you have to remind me? I could never catch you from before." Kaito spotted a bench that was facing the park near them. "Here, let's sit down."

The two of them slowly made their way to the bench and sat down. The two of them just stared at the old, wooden playground, recalling memories from their past. It felt bittersweet, looking at it again after all these years.

A thought ran through Lily's head. After thinking about Kaito and the times they had together. He was always there. Kaito was always there, no matter what. He was there when she graduated in place of her mom when she couldn't because of her death. Kaito was there when she got into trouble. Even in the shadows, he would still find a way to help her. It became more and more obvious that she was with the right man. She admitted in her head that it was rather cliché from the movies to fall in love with your best friend you knew from childhood but Kaito really was right for her. Kaito is the reason why she's in college because of him being the mysterious sender of money she needed to pay her tuition. Lily got the only remaining memento of her mother back thanks to Kaito. No matter what, Kaito would always be there. He's the only man who knows the Lily from behind that gruff exterior aside from her best female friends.

Lily closed her eyes and smiled. She felt truly blessed to have friends like IA, Gumi, and Kaito. "Thank you, Kaito..." She turned to him. "...for all these years you've been there for me."

Kaito looked back at Lily, smiling back at her, feeling almost the exact same way. "My pleasure, Lily..." He started to lean in with his face. "...Always was..."

The two of them shared a tender kiss that was full of soft emotions for one another.

* * *

><p>It was a relatively silent drive on the way over to where Kaito's beach house was. The drive lasted for over an hour. From time to time, Kaito glanced over at Lily, who was fast asleep on the passenger's side. He silently smiled to himself, wondering what she was dreaming about. He'd hope that she was dreaming about him.<p>

When they finally arrived at the beach house, Kaito looked over at Lily again to see that she was still asleep. Kaito smiled at her with how alluring she was in his eyes. She looked so peaceful, so beautiful, so cute just sleeping there, sitting up.

Kaito softly nudged her left shoulder with this right hand. "We're here, Lily."

Lily didn't seem to be waking up from Kaito's nudging. Kaito frowned and nudged harder. "Lily...wake up. We're here."

Again, no response from Lily. Kaito felt inclined to nudge her even harder but the sight of her lips made him stop. He noticed how her lips had a glazed look about it. It looked so...seductive and beautiful with how they're slightly opened.

"_Well...if you're not going to wake up... Maybe this will..."_

Kaito leaned in, trying to kiss those lips that are so full of luster to him. However, as his head came closer, the scent of his hair caused Lily to slightly opened her eyes.

In another second, Kaito felt a hammer hit on the back of his head. He recoiled back, feeling the pain.

Lily scoffed. "Trying to sneak one on me, are you?"

"You wouldn't wake up when I nudged you." Kaito explained as he held his head in pain.

"Humph. Whatever." Lily took a moment to look up at the beach house. It looked absolutely exquisite. It caught every ounce of her attention. She noticed how well structured it was on the outside. There were flowers outlining the perimeter of the house. Although she wasn't exactly fond of flowers, she acknowledged that they were a nice touch to make the house look nicer. "Looks good so far."

Kaito smirked at Lily, knowing she was more impressed than she let on. "Come on, Lily. You don't have to hide the fact that you're impressed. Let's go inside."

Lily leered at Kaito but he ignored her. Kaito took their things and they both went straightaway for the house. At the entrance, Kaito used a key to unlock the doors. He opened them slowly and went inside just as slow. Kaito flipped the switch to turn the lights on to which was the foyer.

Once the lights turned on in the foyer, she promptly went inside. Her mouth hanged, impressed with her surroundings. For a foyer, it sure was large in size. "Damn, Kaito. You've been holding out on me."

Kaito chuckled at Lily look around the foyer like a curious child. "Just wait till we get to the bedroom."

* * *

><p>Soon enough, they arrived there. There was a single bed. It was queen sized with sheets and pillows looking very soft and comfortable. Lily was getting sleepy just by looking at them. "Damn..."<p>

Kaito nodded in agreement as he continued to smirk at Lily's mesmerized look. "I take it you're now impressed."

Looking at how comfortable the bed was made Lily elicit a yawn. "Yeah..."

Lily noticed Kaito going towards a cabinet. He opened the doors and leafed through the spines of thin cases that looked like DVDs. However, it became apparent that those weren't DVD cases, they were video game cases. He took two cases out and showed them to her. "I know how much you wanted to play these two games."

Lily gasped, recognizing the box art almost instantly on the two separate cases. "Th-That's Valkyria Chronicles! And that one! That's Resident Evil: Outbreak! H-How..."

Kaito started grinning from ear to ear, then laughed like a maniac. "I've waited so long for this! I've always kept your interests in mind, Lily. I've reserved these games specifically for your enjoyment for the event that you'd eventually come here. Now it is here. Are you ready to play?"

Lily looked over at Kaito with wide eyes with her lips forming a shocked frown, impressed with how Kaito took the time to know her all these years. "Are you trying to kill me, Kaito?"

Kaito made another maniacal laugh, enjoying every second of seeing Lily in absolute shock. "Nope. I'm sure you want to play now."

Lily nodded her head as if she were a bobble head. She couldn't wait to begin.

The day breezed by because of the game's total engrossment. Lily enjoyed every second of it. Lily always wanted to play these games and because of Kaito once again, she would finally have her chance. She is not an emotional person so she couldn't put it into words but Kaito was truly the one who understood everything about her.

* * *

><p>It was nighttime and the two of them were watching a movie together in the living room. Lily didn't mind the movie much. From time to time, she'd look back over at Kaito to see that he was watching intently at the screen. Though, as the movie was playing, something was in her mind. It was a doubt...about Kaito. She remembers something that Kaito said, a threat he made.<p>

"Kaito, can you pause the movie?"

Kaito slowly took the remote and did, leaving the whole room silent. "What is it, Lily?"

Lily sighed as she looked down, away from Kaito's face, which made him concerned. "Kaito, do you really love me, for me?"

Kaito felt a bit confused that Lily would ask him such a silly question like this one. "Of course I do! Why do you need to ask me that?"

Lily didn't look up at Kaito, feeling doubtful. "I thought about what you said earlier when we were chatting on Skype before I knew it was you who was stalking me. You said...you said you could had raped me but respected me so much that you didn't. It made me wonder, do...do you really love me for who I am or are you just into my body? Also...did you really think about...raping me?"

That question hit Kaito rather hard. Kaito didn't want to lie. He'd rather have Lily love him for who he really was. "...Well...not rape but I did fantasize about having sex with you a couple of times before. But I would never rape you, Lily, even if I had the strength to do it. And yes, I do love you for you. Are there things I wish you'd change about yourself? Yes but it's not any of my business to change who you are nor is it right of me to take away who and what you truly are to suit my selfish needs. When you love somebody because you think you can change them, that's not love. It's a selfish and possessive desire you have for the other person. Even though there are things I wish you'd change about yourself, I'm not going to force you to change, ever. Because if I loved you before, I should still love you now. And I do."

Lily nodded then slowly looked at Kaito in the eyes. "Kaito...there's things I'd wish you'd change about yourself, too. But...did you change just to please me?"

Kaito shook his head "no" at her. "No, I changed myself to be better for you and myself. I wanted to be a better man to you, to be a fairer one to you. And this is truly what I want. So don't worry about you feeling like you're the selfish one here. It's okay."

Lily sighed, feeling a wave of negativity washing over her again. "Kaito, I need to know something. Why do you help me so much? I never asked for your help but you were always there for me. Why do you help me? Why do you never ask me to do anything for you in return for all the favours you did for me?"

Kaito knew that Lily was always a largely independent woman that almost never asked for anyone's help, doesn't rely on others. But those questions were so hard-hitting, he had to think about it for a moment. Kaito just had to answer honestly, knowing how observant Lily usually is to detect whenever he's lying. "Lily...to be honest...I don't know the answer to that. All I can say is, you were an exceptional girl from the day I met you. I knew you had feelings for me back when we were in high school. The way you talked to me, the way you looked at me, the way you were happy being with me, it was different when you were with other people. I don't know why but...my heart knew that helping you was the right thing to do. You were the best friend I ever had. I never felt so touched to the heart being with someone like you. I always put your feelings before myself. ...I really respected you that much that I was willing to let you go if you felt something for someone else."

Lily gasped, recognizing that last part. "Th-That's what I said, too!"

Kaito looked blankly at Lily, who looked back at him in a similar fashion. "Uh...I guess we respect each other's feelings that much that we were willing to be friend-zoned by each other."

"Yeah..."

Kaito looked down at Lily's lap to see her hands resting on her lap. He slowly moved his hand on top of her left one, then took it up into the space between them within eye level. Kaito leaned down and kissed the top of the hand, which made Lily blush but roll her eyes. "Oh, Kaito... Even if I hate sappy shit like this...I love it if this is how you truly feel and are as a person..."

Lily gasped, feeling Kaito's sudden affectionate hug. Instead of questioning it, she just went along with it, hugging him back. Kaito moved his face close and parallel to Lily. Lily nodded, signaling Kaito to begin, feeling okay with what he wants to do. Kaito kissed Lily with pure passion, soaking his saliva on her lips. Lily fought back, kissing him almost as voraciously. From time to time, pleasurable moans escaped from their mouths, signalling their enjoyment of the moment. They knew this moment felt so right with each other. Both of them knew...they were the right people for each other.

As the two of them continued to share passionate kisses, Kaito's hands went from Lily's shoulders and down her upper arms. The skin of her arms felt so...silky to him. It felt absolutely cold and delectable. Out of instinct, he placed his left hand on Lily's left breast. Lily didn't mind the touch. As long as it was Kaito touching her, she knew it was okay.

Kaito then followed it up by squeezing her left breast with his left hand gently, which made Lily winced and cringe from the initial pain but she knew it would be okay. She continued sharing kisses with Kaito, feeling her body becoming warm. She was becoming aroused at the moment. It felt intoxicating, his touch, his lips, and his cologne.

Kaito was liking this as much as Lily. He had kissed Miku before but it didn't feel anywhere near remarkable as this one he was having with Lily. With Lily, Kaito can slowly start to forget the forced relationship he had with Miku and start anew with Lily, the woman who he truly wanted to be with. It would take a while to make up for lost time. But he was in no rush to make up for the trouble. It would take time.

His primal instinct was taking over. As he was kissing Lily, Kaito's hands went down from her breast and to her hips, ready to strip her.

But then Lily felt something snap as soon as she felt Kaito's hands on her hips. Out of reflex, Lily pushed him away a few feet from her. Lily wiped her mouth, breathing some much needed air after a long kiss. She coughed a few times. Kaito handed her some water, which Lily gulped down.

"Are you okay? What's wrong? You didn't like it?" Kaito asked, worried he might have done something wrong.

Lily blushed as she curled up slightly. "N-No...you were fine. It's just...I...don't think I'm ready...yet..."

"What do you mean?" Kaito asked, feeling rejected.

Lily looked down at her lap. "It's just...I feel like we should wait until we're married before we can do that kind of stuff first. You know what I'm saying? It's just...I don't want this to feel just like sex. I want it to mean something. Once we made our wedding vows to each other, then I feel like it'll be the right time...because then, we both are permanently bonded."

It sounded ironic to Kaito to hear that from Lily since she said time and time again that she doesn't believe in fairy tale stuff but Kaito did take her words seriously. Kaito took a moment to look at Lily, who looked rather frail and afraid. Nobody saw her like this but him and their closest friends. Kaito knew what she was talking about. It was egotistical for Kaito to think in his head but he practiced having good control over his sexual desires which made him better than most men who'd sooner just force them upon the women they're attempting to mate with.

Kaito nodded. "If that's what you truly want, okay. I won't."

Lily looked up at Kaito, feeling slightly surprised. "A-Are you sure?"

Kaito shook his head "yes", feeling that he knew he did the right thing in not continuing. "Yes. Your happiness is important to me and in turn, it becomes my own. It's okay. I truly understand you."

"Th-Thank you, Kaito... Thank you so much..." Lily said, with her voice breaking, about ready to cry.

Kaito went closer to her and once again, hugged her tenderly. "You're welcome, Lily. It's always my priority to help you be happy."

The two of them felt pure happiness from being together like this. Their relationship didn't need to be sexual in order to be a happy one. They made each other happy through favours and casual activities. They made each other happy through actions and words. They were physically attracted to each other, but not stupid.

Both Lily and Kaito felt so happy. It felt like huge burdens for the both of them were lifted.

They were ready. Ready to be forever tied into each other's lives. They were ready for what ever happens, they do it together.

Their once Distant Connection was now a much closer and requited one.

* * *

><p><strong>The End<strong>

**Special Thanks for reviewing: 2EnigmaticWriter2, Hana-Chan98, Vic-Kun**


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